San Onofre reports more steam generator tube failures to NRC

Yesterday the Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced it will send an Augmented Inspection Team (AIT) to the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station to review the circumstances that led to three tubes failing a pressure test at Unit 3. On March 14, 2012, at approximately 1120 PDT, Unit 3 Steam Generator (SG) E088 Tube R106 C78 did not meet the target performance criteria because leakage exceeded 0.5 gallons per minute at the maximum pressure achieved during the test (2,884 psig). This was the leaking tube that resulted in the Unit 3 shutdown.

The California utility will continue in-situ testing, and will update the NRC upon any further findings. Hundreds of Southern California residents gathered about a mile south at San Onofre state beach on the first anniversary of the Fukushima disaster to protest the San Onofre Nuclear Generator Station’s continued operation. Another protest is planned on April 28th, the 26th anniversary of the Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster.

2 Comments

The NRC gave the Nuclear Industry a “PASS” on the tube wear issue before on San Onofre and other reactors around the Country http://wp.­me/p21p6a-­77L
BUT NOW
They are realizing that they have a much bigger problem than they first “imagined”­; metal erosion cannot be tolerated when the radioactiv­e leakage is not only high in temperatur­e but also high in amount of radiation!

Would you use a dangerous leaking pressure pot day after day,
… or would you be smart and replace it with something safer?
+
Why nuclear is on the way out:
1. Radiation is dangerous to man
2. Expensive to build compared to Competitive Power Sources.
3. Creates long lasting radioactiv­e waste
4. Too Risky, Nature can destroy any land based nuclear reactor,
… Any place anytime 24/7/365!
5. No meaningful insurance for MAJOR radioactive damages to property or people!

Prediction!
I believe that the CURRENT PROBE into San Onofre will expose many more questionable tubes and also an ongoing coverup of safety related info that was concealed in order to sidestep NRC notifications. San Onofre has the worst safety record of all US reactors and it just makes sense that the Operator will be trying very hard to keep the lid on anything that draw attention to their reactor or it’s operation.

The NRC gave the Nuclear Industry a “PASS” on the tube wear issue before on San Onofre and many of the other reactors around the Country http://wp.­me/p21p6a-­77L BUT NOW
They are realizing that they have a much bigger problem than they first “imagined”­; metal erosion/weakness cannot be tolerated when the radioactiv­e leakage is not only high in temperatur­e and pressure but also high in amount of radiation!

Would you use a dangerous leaking pressure pot day after day,… or would you be smart and replace it with something safer?

Fragile tubes and a EARTH QUAKE could makes a large number of those tubes all fail; which is what I think happened in Fukushima!